I think, on reflection, that it was a mistake to read Family History so soon after reading We Need to Talk About Kevin. The two books deal with superficially similar subjects - a child who changes, who has violent and inexplicable reactions to things - but as Kevin does this in such an intense and deeply involved way that Family History inevitably looks poor by comparison.
Of course, they are very different books, looking at different issues, but the apparent similarity (a mother worrying about the mental health of her child) spoiled Family History for me. It seemed vapid, shallow, and with a completely pointless ending. Although it was well written, I didn't really believe in any of the characters. I don't want to give it a score, because I have a feeling I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't comparing it disparagingly to Kevin in my mind.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hey Kate - yes, I wish I'd read them apart. You really can become quite blase about stuff when you read a lot of similarly themed things within a short period of time.
Post a Comment